Using a cloche

For Xmas this year I was lucky enough to be given a baking cloche (a what? one of these: baking dome )

Been meaning to acquire one for a while, and after a couple of bakes now I can say I am pretty pleased with the results. I tried making a yeasted white first of all, using a poolish matured overnight, final dough at 75% hydration. Here’s the loaves that resulted from baking at 240C for 30 mins with the dome on, and 15 mins same temp with the dome removed.

Yeasted using poolish

And a closer look at one of them now.

That crust is beautiful, and the crumb inside was soft and moist whilst still being cooked through properly. Took both down to a family get-together and they got devoured fairly quickly.

Moving on, today I tried using the cloche to bake some fairly high hydration sourdough loaves. Bulk ferment overnight followed by 4 hours proving in baskets, this was the end result.

The fact that they aren’t taller can be attributed to the trouble I had with the hydration overpowering the gluten… not my own recipe so will adapt things next time. Still, overall pretty pleased with the outcome and the crust is again wonderful. Here’s a closer look at each: both had 30 mins at 240C inside the dome, then the first one I kept the oven on 240C with the dome removed for 15 mins, whilst the second loaf the oven was on 220C for 15 mins once the dome was removed.

3 Responses to Using a cloche

Yup! Just heat up the cloche as you would the stone, and once properly heated through, whip it out, lift the dome, place the risen dough into the base, replace the dome, put back into the oven. No extra moisture is added by any other technique, just keeping the dome on does the business. I haven’t looked back 🙂

I just read that Vanessa Minnello dumped Nick Lacey. This is on the heels of her meeting Kade. Cociindence? I think not. I can’t wait for AK to post about how she dumped Lacey for him, but she’s not hot enough. That would be amongst his most ridiculous statements ever.